Goals for 2012

by verdemama on January 1, 2012

A new year is upon us, and with it comes the opportunity and inspiration to make needed changes in our lives. Obviously we can choose to improve our situation at any time we wish, but I love the gentle nudge the new year offers. We can start a new chapter, or write a whole new book.

Here are some of my personal goals for 2012.

First things first. We need to move Juna out of our bedroom and into the room she will share with Orion. She’s no longer sharing a bed with us, but is now camped out in her crib in the corner of our room while she’s learning how to sleep. So, that’s a step in the right direction, at least. I have a whole post dedicated to her sleep training coming soon, but in a nutshell, she needs to move into Orion’s room, like, yesterday.

I need to take charge of my health. This is always an ambition for me, but this year is the first I’ve truly felt like my health is declining. I’m not sleeping enough, I’m not eating well enough, and I’m not exercising enough. Not so long ago, I was in great shape—I walked two miles daily in addition to doing yoga and Pilates multiple times per week, and hiking and bicycling weekly. But now? I’m a flabby, exhausted mess with 15 postpartum pounds left to lose. My health goals for 2012 and onward include: SLEEPING MORE, eating fewer desserts and empty calories, eating mostly vegetarian, exercising daily, even if it’s just 20 minutes, drinking more water (seriously, I get so wrapped up meeting the kids’ needs that the entire day will pass before I realize I haven’t had a single glass of water), and taking more time for self-care—just a few minutes each night to pluck my eyebrows or do a facial mask or trim my fingernails or whatever little thing that I’ve been too crazed to notice lately. I’ve also recently dusted off my juicer and have been making some potent veggie juice blends to clean out ye olde system. 2012 is the year I get back into kick-ass shape.

Purge/organize/simplify the house. I have been dying to do this FOREVER but haven’t found the time, BUT BY GOD, I am going to go this. Our small, cluttered house is driving me crazy! We moved into our current home five days before I gave birth to Orion and I never had the chance to properly nest. Boxes were hurriedly unpacked and put away—often by well-meaning family members, which was WONDERFUL to have their help, but not everything ended up where I would have put it and lots of junk that should have been purged went right back into the mix. So. I am longing to tidy things up a bit and get rid of the things we don’t need. I know it will take a while, but if I just go room by room—maybe even giving myself several weeks or even a month to finish each room—by the end of the year, it will be done.

Get out in naturemore. Last year Orion went through a period of being afraid of our back yard, so we didn’t go out there as much. He’s been over that for a few months now so we’re back outside making up for lost time. I also want to travel out of the city more often and do some camping. I grew up in the country and it blows my mind to think that I’m raising “city kids.”

Less TV, more books. Seriously, I think I read maybe one or two books (other than parenting books) last year. My brain needs exercise just as badly as my body does. I have a stack of books queued up and ready to be cracked open.

Reviving old skills, such as playing piano and speaking French. I studied both for years and I want to resurrect those talents.

Learn more Spanish. I’ve picked up quite a bit of Spanish language just from day-to-day interactions with people here in SoCal but I think it’s time to make a more official effort.

Make more of an effort on my personal appearance. This is way harder than it sounds, considering most days I have zero time to even shower, let alone pick out a cute outfit or put on makeup. If any of you childless folks wonder why women sometimes start looking like shit after they have kids, come over here and I’ll explain to you (right after I punch you in the mouth) how little time a mom has for herself on any given day. Still, I am vowing to try my best to not look like a zombie yoga pants mom in public, when possible.

Get back into paid writing and editing. In my past life, I made my living as a writer and editor. After I was laid off from my gig as a web editor for the healthy living giant Gaiam in January of 2010 we decided I’d be a SAHM for a while… and here I am, two years later, feeling very disconnected from the working world and wishing I could slowly—gently—make my way back into it. Maybe 2012 is the year I start earning a real paycheck again.

Other odds n’ ends include being kinder and less judgmental, learning to use my DSLR better, spending less and saving more money, being in the moment more and looking for the magic in everyday life.

I’m putting these goals out into the universe to create some accountability on my part. Now that I’ve shared them with the Internet, I have no choice but to follow through, right?

These are my new year's resolutions too. Thanks for writing them down, because I would have never had time to do that. I am sitting here reading this wearing a ratty old tank top and drawstring cotton pants that fit me when I was 9 months pregnant (and sadly, aren't as big on me as they should be in my 8 months-post-partum-state right now). Oy, parenthood.

Camping. I totally want to take my little guy camping ASAP! If you guys would like to go together I think that would be really fun. I know we’ve only met a few times but let me know if you might be interested.